What Alice Forgot

I've had the most delicious day so far and I'm still in my pjs--I haven't really done anything but read. That's the good part.

I finished Liane Moriarty's "What Alice Forgot."  Finally, a good book this summer.  Alice has bumped her head and forgotten the last ten years of her life.  In reality, there are things we all would like to forget, but not at the expense of forgetting the good along with the bad.

The premise of the book seems slightly silly, but it is saved from that by the fresh and candid writing of Moriarity. I liked her. I felt as if I were revealing some of my thoughts and feelings at times. (Were we sisters separated at birth?) How could she know exactly how I would react in such a situation.

A time or two I became impatient with the length of the amnesia. Just tell her why she and Nick broke up already! What the heck happened with Gina? But the tempo and plot development were just about perfect.

If we could learn from Alice's situation, it might be the fact that none of us can be perfect. Relax a little but not to the point of irresponsibility. There is probably more than one suitable and satisfying life possible for each person. I appreciated the different viewpoints of Elizabeth (Alice's sister), Frannie (a mother-figure for Alice and Libby who I thought at first was a bit batty), and Alice both during memory lapses and after. It sounds confusing, but it's not. Even I could keep up.

The Australian author addresses some current societal issues without the slightest preaching. There's no swearing or sex scenes. The characters are people I believe I've met before and the style and tempo is pleasing and not teeth-jarringly complex.

You will learn something about yourself that you probably forgot. Alice will help you remember.